


A Simple Mistake

by InkStainedWings



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Boba Doesn't Actually Die, Child Death, Fix-It of Sorts, Force-Sensitive Boba Fett, Force-Sensitive CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, Force-Sensitive Clone Troopers (Star Wars), Force-Sensitive Echo, Gen, Good Brother Boba, Good Parent Jango Fett, Hurt Clones, Hurt/Comfort, Kip the OC Clone, M/M, Minor Character Death, Protective Jango Fett
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29523951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainedWings/pseuds/InkStainedWings
Summary: Boba liked to play what he saw as a sort of game where he would switch places with another clone cadet while his dad was away. Only this time it ends with blood on the floor and a body being dragged out of his father's apartment that looks just like him. The game didn't feel so fun anymore.
Relationships: Alpha-17 & Boba Fett, Alpha-17 & Jango Fett, Boba Fett & Jango Fett, CC-2224 | Cody & Boba Fett, Jango Fett & Clone Troopers, Jango Fett/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 113
Kudos: 366





	1. Chapter 1

Jango rubbed his face as he settled into his seat on the slave one and opened his messages to check on his son. He hated being away for so long but he had work to do and he knew Boba understood. His son was good that way. He never argued or tried to demand Jango stay despite the sadness he could see each time he told Boba he had to go away. Boba would always make him promise to stay alive and come back safe and those were promises he never intended to break. 

The first few holo recordings of Boba made him smile. His son telling him about his lessons or about some new story he had been reading online. The last cause him to glare however as it was one of the Kaminoans on his personal recording devices which was against their agreements. He was too angry at them breaking into his rooms that he didn’t even hear what they said the first time and had to repeat it. 

“Sir Fett, I know we have agreed not to enter your chambers without your express permission, however, we believe this is the fastest way to get ahold of you with these circumstances and we believe it is critical you be made aware right away. Unfortunately, one of your trainers, the bounty hunter Mr. Kellan, has had a mental break of some sort and attacked young Boba,” she spoke so calmly as if the words weren’t sending Jango into a whirlwind of panic that had him immediately plugging in the coordinates of Kamino so he can get back as soon as he could. 

“We arrived too late. Boba’s body has been placed in the morgue for you to choose what to do with when you return. We know you may not wish for it but we are happy to provide you with a replacement if you desire one. Or you may choose from the clones we already have available if you do not wish to begin from scratch again with training. We can remove the accelerated aging at any point for you. We apologize for this unfortunate news and can discuss your wishes once you return.” She said before the message ended and Jango was left frozen in his seat. 

Dead. Boba was… No. No no no. He didn’t believe that. It was some sick joke. His son couldn’t be dead. Boba was too smart, he had trained him to- but he was still just a kid. In the end, there was no way Boba would win if he had been surprised and Jango’s mind played the scene out for him in detail. About how it happened. Had Boba called for him to help him? His son’s last moments had been afraid and alone. He took in a gasping breath as tears rolled down his face. He should have been there to protect him. He should have taken Boba with him. Now it was too late and his son was gone and the universe was laughing at him yet again for thinking he could have anything good for himself. 


	2. Chapter 2

It was a game Boba played regularly. He knew if his father ever found out he would be in more trouble than he had ever been in his life but he didn’t fully care. He snuck into the barracks where Kip would be waiting and Boba used the scanner he had reprogrammed to switch the IDs bound to the codes in their wrists. 

“Can I have a pudding cup while I do your lessons?” Kips asked and Boba chuckled. 

“Just one. I promised Rex the last one. I’ll get my buir to buy more soon though. Remember if anything happens or if my dad gets back early you need to com me. The droids and Kaminii may be fooled by this but he won’t be. We’ll need to switch back.” Boba reminded the other boy who nodded.

The game had started years ago when Kote and him had switched for a day just to see if anyone would notice out of curiosity. They had both enjoyed the change of pace and it did Kote good to get rest while Boba had loved the challenge of no one babying him for being Prime’s chosen. They had huddled together that night and come up with plans to make the arrangement repeatable and how to protect themselves. The only issue was how much faster Kote had grown. Once he got too big he had given Boba names of others that were now his age that could use access to better food and some rest or gentle treatment. It wasn’t that Boba wasn’t challenged. Jango made sure he was trained and ready for anything. But when Jango was gone he didn’t trust anyone else to train Boba so he made it a sort of vacation. It was good for the cadets who were constantly being broken and put back together again and Boba was good at getting those who hurt those cadets to realize the error of their ways- whether it was trainers he would accuse of abusing him to his dad later (and he had the bruises to prove it even if they never knew how) or other vode who thought they were better and who Boba would either personally take down a notch or enlist one of the Alphas to take a look at. 

Boba wasn’t above using his position to protect those who he liked and ruin those he felt deserved it. It felt good to do something to help his brothers and it felt good to be accepted and even loved in return. 

Boba watched the other boy crawl through the vents and he hurried and lined up right next to Rex with a toothy grin. The other boy rolled his eyes. 

“You are going to get us decommissioned.” He grumbled and Boba pouted at him. 

“Aww Rexy, I know you love me. I’ve been doing this for a few years now. Alpha-17, Cody, Wolffe, and a few others are all on the lookout. They all know where I am and who I’ve switched with. Kip said that Shark was giving him a rough time. I’m just going to do a little clean up let the kid have a pudding cup and I’ll be back in my room in time for late meal.” He said and Rex sighed. 

“Fine. Kip is a gentle soul, not the best fighter, I’ll spar with you and you can let me win. Don’t rough up Shark where any long necks can see or you’ll raise flags.” He warned and Boba nodded following Rex while doing his best lost-puppy act which seemed to put anyone who saw at ease. 

* * *

Boba couldn’t have known how wrong everything would go. He had trusted the trainers his father chose even if sometimes they treated the clones more like droids than people, they had all still seemed to know it wasn’t their place to break them. His heart was in his throat as he watched Kip’s body being removed from his own rooms, blood on the floor and all over Boba’s favorite blue shirt. He stood fully still to try to hear what the Kaminoans were saying about it. 

“Jango will not be pleased to hear of his son’s death. He will not just accept a replacement.” One spoke seeming frustrated. 

“Tyranus will be even less pleased. The trainer has already been apprehended by A-17. Jango can deal with the matter personally. He has no reason to suspect us of anything. He need not know about the tests.” The other spoke more softly and Boba swallowed down his gasp. The Kamoinoans had set this up? What tests are they talking about?

“The child suffered from an accident. The trainer snapped. But the chips can not be implemented in adults or non-clones it seems. He was supposed to kidnap the child, not kill him. It clearly malfunctioned.” Boba backed away noticing they had started to move and if they found out he was still alive or had heard them he would probably share the fate Kip had taken on his behalf. He needed to get ahold of his dad right away. 

He ran to find Alpha 17 trying not to panic. He would know what to do. He would know how to fix this. The guilt gnawing at Boba’s stomach didn’t help either. If it had been him at home… would he have had the training to resist and escape? He was older than Kip and much bettered trained. It was his fault now that Kip was gone and he felt like he was going to be sick.


	3. Chapter 3

Alpha 17 knew that today was going to be one big headache after another. He had known it even before Cody had warned him about Boba switching places with Kip. Something had been chewing on his nerves like Wolffe chewed on his sleeves when he was nervous. He was proven right when he had heard a scream from Prime’s apartment and arrived just in time to see some demagolka pulling a knife from Kip’s broken body. 

He had acted on instinct slamming his body against the man and crushing him against a wall while twisting the man’s wrist until it made a satisfying clicking noise and he dropped the weapon. He tried to fight back but he hadn’t been expecting Alpha and seemed to be lashing out blindly so it barely took any real effort from the trained soldier to slam his fist against his face and knock him out. By that point, other clones had followed the scream to the scene. 

“Get me a medic and someone get me some cuffs!” He yelled out an order and a pair of older clones vanished while Alpha knelt next to their little brother. 

“A-Alpha?” The boy whimpered eyes searching and not being able to focus on him. 

“I got you, Kip. You’ll be okay. A medic is on the way. We’ll get you in some bacta and get you some extra training. Nothing like this will happen again.” He murmured quietly but he didn’t even believe his own words. There was too much blood. Bacta was good but it wasn’t a miracle worker. 

“Tell Boba… Thank you. Tell him… I’m a good soldier. Happy to save… ori’vod.” He panted out through the obvious pain his words starting to slur together as he started to drift out of consciousness. 

“I’ll tell him. You did good vod’ika. You did good. Rest now. Jate vod’ika.” He cooed softly knowing he wasn’t going to make it and wanting to at least give him that before he passed. By the time the Kaminoans and the medic he asked for arrived Kip was dead. Though the gasp from the Kaminoan made him realize no one else would know that. 

“Is that Prime’s kid? What was his name?” The medic who Alpha recognized as Splint murmured and Alpha realized how totally fucked this situation had become as it all slammed into his brain at once. Whoever he knocked out had been after Boba and right now Kip’s ID would read as Boba’s when it was scanned. If he told the truth it could put Boba in danger and Alpha refused to let Kip’s death mean nothing. 

“Boba. His name was Boba. Prime is not going to take this well. Splint, take him and get him cleaned up, and put on ice until Prime gets back. I’m taking this hu’tuun to the cells until he wakes up and can be questioned. He’s Prime’s to deal with.” He ordered looking up at the Kaminoans for permission. 

“Someone call 99 to deal with the blood. We will contact Jango so he is made aware of the situation.” Nala Se said in her normally breezy tone and Alpha had to bite back a growl as he let Kip’s body get taken away and he shooed off the crowd back to their lessons. He wouldn’t let this end up as a reason more of his brothers died. 

He was expecting it when Boba came running into his quarters with tears pouring down his face. For all his attitude and snark, Boba had a good heart. He cared about the vode even if he sometimes let his position as Prime’s so called son get to his head. But Alpha liked him. He was fierce and smart and knew when to push his luck and when he was over his head and needed to take orders. If he wasn’t Prime’s Alpha would have claimed him for his command group. 

He dragged the kid into his arms and rubbed his back. “I got you kid. You’re safe.” He murmured softly as Boba hiccuped and tried to speak but it was too blubbered to be understood. 

“Not yet kid. Shhh. We have time. Focus on your training. How do you process this?” He reminded him and Boba sniffled blinking clearly needing a moment to process before he put a hand against Alpha’s chest and matched their breathing. 

“Jate. Good. Deep slow breaths. It happened. It’s over. Can’t change the past. We can only take the situation we are in and make it worth something.” He said keeping his voice level and calm as Boba started to calm down from his hysteria. 

“It should have been me. I might have been able to take him.” Boba whimpered and Alpha sighed. 

“Yeah maybe. Or maybe you would have died instead. Not that your life is worth more than Kip’s but in the end neither of you should have died. The blame belongs to the guy with the knife. Not on you or Kip. Kip said he was proud to protect you. Don’t go off doing something stupid now to make his death in vain. Until we know the motivation you are staying as Kip. Do you understand? I don’t care if Prime comes back or how he acts or what anyone says. You are Kip and you will be staying under Rex’s watch until I say it’s okay for us to tell Prime the truth.” He said firmly and Boba nodded. 

“Yes sir.” He agreed even if Alpha could see in his face that he wanted nothing more than to go running straight into Prime’s arms. He didn’t blame him for it but he did feel a flash of bitterness towards him for the fact he had that option. None of the rest of them had ever had anyone to run to beside their vode. Though… Boba had come to him with Prime gone and he was agreeing to his terms despite the fact he could easily disobey and go to Prime anyway. So maybe he was one of them after all. 

He wasn’t surprised that Cody nearly ripped his door off as he came running in with Wollfe and Keeli on his heels. “Kip?” Cody asked unsurely but Boba shook his head and Cody sighed. 

“Boba? Kriff.” He cursed dragging Boba into a bone-crushing hug that Wolffe and Keeli joined in until Boba started squirming. 

“Once Prime gets back, I will take him to see the prisoner and we’ll see if we can figure out why the monster wanted to kill Boba. If it’s safe I’ll tell Prime about Boba’s little game and we can return Boba to him but if it’s not safe then I want Kip transferred to your unit Cody and Boba will remain undercover as him for as long as we need.” He explained and Cody nodded. 

“That’s great for the short term but he doesn’t grow like we do and if we go to war soon like we’re meant to then we’ll be leaving for battle. How am I supposed to justify dragging a cadet out with me?” he asked and Alpha sighed rubbing his face. 

“One step at a time. We might not even need to hide him that long. If it comes to it then I’ll deal with what needs to be done then. Otherwise one of the command or Rex with Boba at all times. You tell anyone who asks that I’m thinking of putting him on the command track and I’m testing him. They can come to me.” He said and got four nods before Cody was dragging Boba out of the room with a protective arm over his shoulder. He doubted any of the others would get a chance to watch Boba. Cody got possessive of the vode he liked and he and Boba had been close since Cody was fresh out of his tube. The only one he thought Cody might be more protective of was Rex but that was before Boba had almost been murdered. Now he just had to figure out how to deal with Prime and keep him from self-destructing and taking all of Kamino down with him. 


	4. Chapter 4

Jango felt numb as he made his way off of the Slave One bypassing the Kaminoans that tried to speak to him and shutting the door to his apartment in their faces as he started stripping from his armor the silence louder than any sound. Boba should have come running as soon as the door opened, already prattling on about a new ship he had researched or some interesting tidbit about some far off culture that caught his fancy. He was like Jaster that way. His son loved to learn and could read much longer than Jango himself had ever had the patience for. 

He almost shot Alpha-17 when the clone stood up from where he had been sitting at Boba's desk. The clone kept his hands raised. 

"Prime. Not here for trouble. I caught the bastard responsible and am supposed to take you to him." He said keeping his voice level and his face calm. It was like looking in a mirror except Alpha still had so much youth in him despite his sped up aging. He was no older than Boba had been. Jango's hand shook and he slowly lowered the gun back to it's holster. 

"Boba liked you." Jango sighed rubbing at his face and Alpha winced before evening his expression again but Jango caught it. Boba had liked the clones despite Jango trying to stop him. He constantly had tried to get Jango to reconsider letting him near them. He spoke so highly of the one he called Kote and would tell Jango all the gossip he could pick up using his growing slicing skills. Or so he claimed. Jango wasn't stupid. He knew Boba snuck out with them sometimes. Despite not liking letting his son get attached he knew completely isolating his son from others his age wasn't healthy either so he had let Boba think he got away with it. Now he was gone. 

"I liked him too sir. He was a bright kid. A good kid. He loved you greatly." Alpha said and Jango took a deep breath before nodding at him changing his mind about changing out of his armor. No point if he was going to be fighting again soon. 

"Lead the way Alpha." He grunted more than spoke but Alpha turned and lead the way out of the rooms and back into the hall towards the containment cells. 

"What even happened?" Jango finally asked. 

Alpha scowled. "I was making my rounds when I heard a scream near your quarters. Immediately knew it must of been Boba and the door was open. Saw the man, Panzo Kellan trainer for the 764th legion, pulling a knife from his body. I tackled him, disarmed him, and knocked him out before calling for a medic but he had already lost too much blood." Alpha recounted methodically keeping any emotion out of it.

"Did he... Did..." Jango tried to ask but he couldn't find the words to ask through his grief. 

"He was unconscious and didn't speak sir. But I know he would have wanted you there if you could have been." Alpha said hoping that was what Jango needed to hear. He hoped he could just admit to this whole mess being a mistake soon but until he could he needed to keep Prime stable. He would have liked nothing more than to use this to tear into Jango. To remind him clones died every day on Kamino in worse ways than what happened there. That at that very moment there was a room he could drag Jango to where children who Jango wouldn't be able to tell apart from Boba were being injected with drugs that make their veins feel like lava while preventing them from moving or making a sound and all of it was on Jango's shoulders. But... His vode needed him and he knew when he could push his luck and when he needed to keep his mouth firmly closed. 

"You look like you have something to say." Jango stopped and looked at him and Alpha schooled his face back into an impassive mask from the dark snarl that had been building. 

"No sir. Nothing sir." He said standing at attention and Jango narrowed his eyes. 

"You think I deserve this, don't you?" He asked and Alpha met his glare with an equally stubborn one. 

"I think that maybe if you didn't let so many of us clones get murdered all the time it might be a bigger deal when a clone got murdered. I think that Boba got lucky it was a knife to the gut and not a serum that burns him inside out while he lays helpless and begs for death long before its granted- if it's granted since the ones that last the longest sometimes are allowed to live since they supposedly prove their strength by it. I think you're a hypocritical bastard who is crying over the death of one of us when you normally wouldn't have shed a tear. But no. I don't think you deserve it. No one deserves to have their family die when there's not a damn thing they can do about it. No one deserves to have their son die. No one deserves to hold their brother in their arms while they bleed to death." Alpha spat the words tumbling out as sharply as he could make them as his own grief and pain sparked. It wasn't even the first brother he watched die. He had seen too many. He was expecting a fist to the face or a shot through his chest so he flinched when he saw Jango's hand move but it was gentle where it gripped the back of his neck and tugged him forward so their foreheads tapped together and all his breath left him at once. 

"If he had to have anyone there besides me I'm glad it was you," Jango said. It wasn't fully an apology but in a way, it was more. It was a promise to do better. 

Jango released him and started walking again and Alpha kept pace beside him quickly scrubbing away tears. Wouldn't do for any of his boys to think he felt actual emotions. 

"The Kaminoans offered me pick of the clones for a replacement but he can't be replaced. You're not all the same." Jango told him as they stopped in an elevator. Alpha thought about that but was drawn from his thoughts when a voice called out to them from the end of the hallway. 

“Jango, there you are. This is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. He’s here to inspect the clones and wished to meet you.” Nala Se said and Jango sighed closing his eyes. 

“I will have Alpha-17 show him around after I have seen my son and the prisoner. Thank you Nala Se.” He said and Obi-Wan walked over to them looking between the pair before his eyes narrowed at the armor. 

“You were the one who killed the changeling.” He accused and Jango gave him an exhausted look opening his mouth but Alpha 17 cut him off. 

“We are going to see his son’s body. Everything else can wait until arrangements are made and the prisoner is dealt with. Now, let’s go.” Alpha said and nodded at Jango who squeezed his shoulder in thanks and started to walk though he kept himself between Obi-Wan and Alpha. 

“Your son died?” ObI-Wan asked and Alpha took over repeating the events to him very careful to only tell the truth as he spoke. He had heard that Jedi could sense when someone is lying. But if he withheld a few truths? Well, that was his choice in talking about something personal to a stranger. 

“I am sorry for your loss,” Obi-Wan murmured sounding truly sorry which only made Jango angry. 

“You jetti don’t care about shit. You are only sorry it wasn’t your blade that did the deed… or maybe it was? Maybe this was your revenge for the senator?” Jango whirled on him but Alpha stopped him from attacking. 

“Prime… It wasn’t the Jedi. You’re in pain but it doesn’t help anyone to lash out this way. I need you to help me get justice for my vod’ika.” Alpha said and Jango’s shoulders slumped inwards again and he marched the rest of the way to the door they needed to get to.

Alpha let him go inside alone and looked up as Cody walked over with the real Boba beside him. 

“Cody, Kip, how can I help you?” He asked them and not-Boba spoke up.

“I overheard the Kaminiise talking after the… incident and forgot to report it to you sir.” He said but stopped speaking when Jango walked out of the room staring at him and Alpha knelt and squeezed the not-Boba’s shoulder knowing the kid was about to break. 

“Go on cadet. Tell us what you heard.” Jango spoke and Boba trembled but nodded steeling himself. 

“They said something about you b- prime, uh, sir… That you didn’t need to know about some test and that you didn’t need to know about the chips being added to non-clones since it didn’t work. That the trainer had been ordered to kidnap m-, uh… Boba?” He squeaked out and Alpha rubbed his face. 

“Chips? Like slave chips? Are you enslaved?” Obi-Wan spoke up and Jango shook his head before seeming to change his mind in the middle of the motion and stopping himself. 

“They are soldiers. Trained from creation to serve the Jedi order specifically.” Jango said and Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. 

“And why would we need soldiers? From someone who clearly hates us?” He replied lifting an eyebrow. 

“I don’t- Your people massacred mine on Galidraan! There were barely any of us left! I have a right to hate monsters like you! The clones? They were ordered by a man named Tyranus. He paid me an extremely generous fee, and as part of my deal, I would get one clone, unaltered, to keep as a son. That was my Boba. My son. I would have given up all of the money in the galaxy for him. He was all I wanted. I didn’t care about the rest of the details. I was- am a bounty hunter, we don’t ask. We do the job.” Jango hissed at him 

Obi-Wan raised his hands. “Fine… How about we make a deal then? You take me to see this, Tyranus, since he is clearly your employer, and in exchange, I let you go and don’t arrest you. But only if you swear on your son’s name you won’t try to harm Senator Amidala again or hire anyone else to harm her.” He offered holding out a hand and Jango stared at a moment before looking over at Alpha and Cody then down at the one he only knew as a cadet that looked just like Boba before taking it. 

“I swear it on the life Boba should have had.” He agreed then released Obi-Wan’s hand. Alpha and Cody were locked in a silent debate until Boba tugged on Alpha’s blacks eyes pleading. They couldn’t leave his father like this. 

“Fine. Prime come here.” Alpha grabbed Jango and dragged him back into the room holding the body and Cody, Boba and Obi-Wan followed after he gestured to them and he closed the door. Cody pulled out a jammer and activated it once he was sure the room was clear. 

“Alpha, what are you doing?” Jango asked confused. 

“Sir… please do not decommission me.” Alpha started but Boba shook his head. 

“No! Alpha, it was my idea. This is all my fault. I won’t let you take the blame for this.” Boba argued but Cody interrupted them both. 

“Boba isn’t dead sir.” He said and both Boba and Prime gave him matching looks that seemed to ask if he was stupid. 

“Cody?” Jango asked trying not to let himself hope. 

“It was a stupid game. The clones get trained nonstop until they’re run ragged. I just wanted to let a few of them relax and the droids and Kaminoans never bother to notice the differences. I just…” Boba took out the wand and lifted the blank over Kip’s wrist scanning the codes and switching them back. “I didn’t expect someone to try to murder me.” He grumbled and Jango was frozen staring at him with wide eyes. 

“What?” He asked his eyes flickering back to Alpha. 

“Boba’s been switching places with clones for years sir. Whenever you’re gone. Cody, Wolffe, Colt, Gregor, Fordo actually pretty much all of us Alpha Class, and a few other commanders, we’ve all been covering for him. This cadet is Boba. The one who died was named Kip. We weren’t sure if it was safe for Boba to reveal himself as alive if they want him dead and I still think we should maintain the cover until we figure out all the details, but we can’t leave you thinking he’s dead anymore.” Alpha sighed. 

“I can tell you anything you want about times when it was just you and me to prove it if you don’t believe it buir! I am so sorry! I-” Boba started only to get cut off when Jango fell to his knees and dragged him into his arms crushing him to his chest as he pressed his face into Boba’s hair. 

“I thought- The other cadet- He didn’t look like you. The hair is wrong and you have that scar on your knee and I hoped but I couldn’t- Boba… Ner ad. My Boba.” Jango broke down sobbing and Boba hugged him back. 

“I’m so sorry dad. I never meant for things to end up like this.” Boba murmured but Jango pulled back and shook his head. 

“It wasn’t your fault. The Kaminoans will pay for this. But Alpha is right. You’ll be safer if they keep thinking you’re dead. The Jedi and I will go to Tyranus. Alpha, get your best slicers to hack the systems here and try to find out what they planned to do once they had Boba and if they made any calls out of Kamino after the fight. We’ll figure this out. You stay with Cody, okay?” Jango said feeling like he’d rather die than leave his son again but he had to make him safe. He would settle for nothing less. Everyone nodded. 

“Good. Obi-Wan, right? Do you think you can help me with the prisoner? Your magics could be helpful there.” He asked and Obi-Wan nodded. 

“The force, but yes. I will help you.” He agreed not certain what he was getting himself into but he wasn’t going to return to the temple until he had answers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was talking with a friend and so I changed a few plans and decided to cut Jango a little slack. He's suffered enough. Plus I need him on his A-Game for all the chaos coming after this. Geonosis still isn't going to be a picnic. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the support and reviews. It means so much to hear from you.


	5. Chapter 5

Jango kept looking over his shoulder as if he could still see his son after Alpha, Cody, and Boba left and Obi-Wan sighed loudly and resisted the urge to elbow him. 

“You might look less suspicious if you stop looking for him.” He suggested as they both stepped into an elevator to head below the surface of the water. Prisoners were kept under sea level to make escape much more difficult for them. 

“I want my son back. He is- was- everything to me! I know you  _ Jetti _ don’t care about anyone but some of us normal people actually love our families.” Jango hissed at him spitting the word Jetti like it was a curse. Obi-Wan’s eye twitched but he held it together. 

“Actually… our cultures are not so different from one another’s. We also take in foundlings. 

“You steal children from their rightful families like the kyr’tsad!” 

“We do not steal children! We have permission to take the children from every family we take them from and it’s for the best of the child. It’s no more stealing than… say… giving a child with wings to a family who also has wings so they can properly care for them and teach them to fly one day. Sure, the original family could read about flying and wings. Maybe they could even teach them a little. But without someone who truly has lived the experience, that child will always feel like they don’t belong there.” He argued though he kept his voice level not wanting to start yelling at the man.

“Maybe, if the people with wings were treated differently and had the power to choose if non-winged people lived or died just by right of having wings. Do you understand? They can’t tell you no! Because what would happen if they did? Tell me. What would happen if you found a strong force-sensitive child and their family told you no?” Jango growled and Obi-Wan pinched the brink of his nose. 

“Hypothetically, we would send someone from the temple to watch over them and allow them to stay with their family,” Obi-Wan said and Jango snorted. 

“Right and that person from the temple wouldn’t interfere in any way in the child’s upbringing? Tell me, there are winged people in your order right? Do you send them out to help their brethren in orphanages who won’t be being taught to fly?” Jango countered and Obi-Wan groaned. 

“Did the Haat Mando’ade go around to all the orphanages on Mandalore and help all the children in all of them?” He shot right back until Jango’s predatory grin caught him. 

“Yes, we did. When we were around Mandalore didn’t even have orphanages because it was our culture that no child should be without a home, we tended to raise children together. They’d have their parents of course but even foundlings that weren’t claimed yet would be lumped with those who were and raised no differently. If there was a child with wings, we’d find them a teacher who had wings- not a parent. No need to take a child from their home and family for only one part of the whole of who they are. They are not the wings, they are a child who just so happened to have wings. And yes, there were force-sensitive children. We encouraged their gifts and gave them the choice once they were old enough to understand it. We had our own force-sensitive elders who would teach them if they chose to stay otherwise they were required to give an oath of secrecy so the Jedi wouldn’t know they were Mandalorian and hurt them.” Jango told him seeming extremely pleased at the surprised look on Obi-Wan’s face. 

“The council will find this information… very interesting.” He said only for Jango’s eyes to widen before they darkened and he spun pinning Obi-Wan to the wall with a knife to his throat. 

“You won’t tell them anything. They killed them. My people. Maybe, possibly, I could have forgiven that. But once they found out about the truth. That we were innocent and the people they protected were the ones slaughtering children, instead of taking responsibility, they swept it under the rug and supported Satine! Satine! The woman who thinks blond hair and fair skin makes someone Mandalorian. Did they ever ask where all the non-human races went when she took power? Mandalore was founded by the Taung! To escape people like her! She spits in the face of our whole culture!” He released Obi-Wan who was staring at him with about a million emotions warring in his mind. 

“Keep your mouth shut to your precious council or I will find you after this, and unlike Zam, I won’t fail,” Jango warned him before gesturing to the door. 

“This is the stop.” He said and Obi-Wan just nodded so Jango punched in the code to open the door where the prisoner was waiting. 

“Fett. I was wondering when you’d finally get your ass down here.” He said grinning and Jango punched him hard in the left side of his face so he ended up spitting blood on the ground. 

“Why did you kill my son?” Jango growled lowly. 

“Your son? Which one is he again?” He asked sneering and Jango lifted him from the floor by his throat. 

“All of them. But in particular, I’m talking about Boba.” Jango said squeezing his throat more tightly with each word before dropping him back to the floor gasping for breath. 

Obi-Wan had simply stood to the side not feeling it was his place to interfere besides keeping Jango from killing the man, however, Jango turned to him. 

“You can use Jedi magic to read minds, can’t you? Or at least feel if he’s telling the truth or not, correct?” He asked and Obi-Wan held in yet another sigh. 

“Something like that. I can force a feeble-minded individual to speak but the stronger the mind, the harder it is, and there’s a chance of breaking the mind. Then you’ll get nothing. However, I can feel if he is speaking the truth or not.” He agreed and the man on the floor stared at him with more horror than he had looked at Jango which made no sense to Obi-Wan. Jango was the one who wanted him dead. 

“You brought in a Jedi to torture me? You?” He asked Jango who crouched and grabbed the man by the jaw. 

“Why did the Kaminoans want Boba? Why did you kill him?” He asked very slowly. 

“I don’t know! I was doing the kid a favor. He’s better off dead than with those freaks. They did something to me. Put something in my head! He was better dead than letting them mutate him. You know it, Fett. And they killed my boys. My batch of cadets. Said they had undesirable mutations. They were my boys! I wanted you to feel it too. They killed innocent kids Jango!” The man whimpered and Jango released him. 

“They won’t anymore. I’ll be back to have you scanned in medical. If they did something to you then they’re in breach of contract and I will be taking my DNA with me. Every last single bit.” Jango said and Kellan slumped to the ground. 

“Jate. Good. Finally.” He sighed and Jango stepped out with Obi-Wan following. 

They were going to get to the bottom of this. 


	6. Chapter 6

Alpha 17 groaned as he looked at his assignments for the day. “That bad huh?” Boba asked from where he was sharing a vanilla pudding cup with Cody. 

“Domino squad.” He said and Cody winced in sympathy. 

“They’re the ones who threw one of their own off C deck aren’t they?” Boba asked grinning. 

“Yeah, I think the one tossed over was CT-5555. He has a habit of running his mouth off when he shouldn’t. Kinda like you runt.” Alpha said shoving his shoulder fondly and Boba just stuffed a bite of pudding in his face. 

“That’s a good thing. Followers are fodder in war. Having a backbone means he’ll probably live. Funny how the whole reason a clone army is superior is that they can think for themselves, but then thinking for yourself is punished. It’s like they want us to be droids.” Boba pointed out and Alpha frowned. 

“Well if we have slave chips in our heads then maybe they do,” Cody added in which caused the other two to look somber. 

“We can’t even remove them without drawing attention to the fact we know they’re there. It feels so wrong.” Alpha sighed but they all quieted when Cody’s com chirped and the commander shoved the last bite of pudding from the cup into his mouth and answered it. 

“Cody! Where are you? Waxer caught an eel and tried to sneak it into our barracks but he dropped it and we lost it in the fresher drains and now none of the men will use the fresher because they think the eel will bite them!” Boil complained and Boba had to hide his snickers in his sleeve while Alpha-17 gave Cody a look that made him stand up straighter though his skin burned with embarrassment. He was supposed to have some of the best troops there were.

“I’m on my way lieutenant.” He directed before rubbing his scar as Boba started cackling. 

“I’ll take Boba with me to deal with Domino Squad. If you can, however, please bring the eel back alive. I think I can find a use for it.” Alpha said eyes sparkling with mischief and Cody made an extra note to make sure to slip the eel back into the ocean immediately. 

“Of course sir. Be good Kip. Try not to get yourself killed… again.” Cody said ruffling Boba’s hair before leaving and Boba tossed the pudding cup into the trash but kept the spoon in his mouth sucking on it like he could keep the flavor in just a little longer if he did. 

“I don’t like taking his name. He picked it out. I’m the reason he’s dead. It feels wrong.” Boba sighed, tossing the spoon with the rest while Alpha stood to kit up. 

“The word Kip has meaning. It’s when you swing your legs forward and then back down again to give your body momentum for other moves. Kip was never the strongest one of his batch, but he was always ready to get the others moving. He encouraged them and supported them. That’s how he got his name. He gave his team momentum to get things done. I think he’d be pleased to know he did the same thing for the whole of Kamino with his death. It set Prime moving forward, helping us. It’s going to change this whole war I think. I think that if using his name keeps you safe and keeps you moving forward, Kip would be happy to give it to you.” Alpha said squeezing Boba’s shoulder. 

“Now let’s go. Before another member of Domino squad gets thrown into the ocean.” He said and Boba nodded following him out. They had already spoken of the story they were giving to anyone who asked. He was the one Jango had chosen to be Boba’s replacement and Jango had directed Alpha to catch him up to speed personally while he was busy. This would allow Boba to stay safe and close to Alpha who could contact Jango if anything went wrong. 

“Did you ever do the dive?” Boba asked as they walked and Alpha snorted. It was a sort of rite of passage for the clones to dive down into Kamino’s deep ocean and then make their way back without help. The Kaminoans had tried to stop them after a few never came back up but it was facing the fear of the water and the possibility of death that drew them to it in the first place so if anything the Kaminoan’s threats only encouraged the troopers. 

“Of course. Do you think I’d have any respect here if I didn’t?” He asked and Boba shrugged. 

“You’re scary enough without it. I’m guessing that means you jumped from Point then? C deck is pretty low. Even if CT-5555 had jumped it wouldn’t have been that impressive.” He said and Alpha grinned. Point was the tallest survivable jump just standing on the domed roof of the building was exhilarating. It was extremely dangerous, always slippery from the rain. Falling and going down wrong could easily kill a clone. 

“Have you been telling the cadets stories about me again? Of course, I jumped from Point. I have a reputation to uphold. C-deck would still be impressive for a shiny like him. It’s not as low as some of the other places I’ve seen dives happen. Though most do it again higher up later.” He said stopping by the door to the training room to look in rolling his eyes at the squad who was already bickering and grappling with each other. 

“Soldiers! What is this about?” He called out as he walked in Boba in perfect step behind him. Domino squid immediately dropped each other and jumped to attention. He stopped in front of one of them and swiped some blood off his cheek. 

“ID soldier.” He commanded. 

“CT-4040 sir!” He said firmly and Alpha nodded walking down the line. 

“And 4040, who started this fight? What was it about?” He asked and the soldier looked at the other others before firming right back up when Alpha’s gaze landed on him again. 

“No one sir! It was just a spar, sir!” He said finally and Alpha’s lips quirked. Maybe they weren’t completely hopeless. 

“You can’t lie to a commanding officer!” Another called out and Alpha pointed to him. 

“I want your ID.” He said and the first stepped back as the new one stepped forward. 

“CT-1409 sir.” He said trembling a bit as Alpha stepped close to him. 

“And you want to tell me something soldier? That your batchmate was lying?” He asked and the others all watched. 

“We were fighting about Boba sir. Is it true what people are saying? That he was killed?” He asked and Alpha tilted his head.

“Yes.” He said and the soldier beside 1409 gasped but Alpha could see the whole group seemed upset over the news. All their stances loosened and he could see the one he knew was 5555’s eyes watering a bit. 

“That’s life here on Kamino. None of us are safe. But if you support each other, as a group, then you will be safer. You are all each other has. I agree you shouldn’t lie to your commanding officers, however, your squad is your life. You must be able to trust each other to defend you, even with the officers above you. Otherwise, you will never succeed.” He waved 1409 back into line and waved his brother forward.

“CT-5555, Fives sir.” He introduced without being asked and Alpha gave him a once over. 

“How was your swim Fives?” He asked 

“Refreshing sir. I needed the bath.” He said keeping form and Alpha’s lips twitched. He liked this one. 

“I’m certain you did. Back in line.” He said and Fives stepped back while the next stepped forward. 

“CT-782 sir.” He introduced. Alpha noticed the way the armor looked too tight around the soldier’s arms and chest and raised an eyebrow. 

“You like playing with the big toys huh? Your armor needs work, it’ll be inefficient to have you squeezed into something too small for you. Leave it behind when you leave today.” He said before having the last soldier step forward.

“CT-00-2010 sir.” He said letting Alpha do his inspection before stepping back. Alpha could guess from reports what his problem was without needed to see or hear it then.

“Domino squad. You have made a name for yourselves and it isn’t a good one. You fall one by one and end up taking everyone around you down with you. No one wants to put up or deal with you. If you don’t want to end up cleaning freshers for the whole war, you’re going to have to impress me. Which is a task very very few have managed to do. I was you all stripped to your kutes and running the room now. Go!” He ordered and they all started ripping off the plastoid armor as fast as they could. Alpha returned to stand next to where Boba was sitting. 

“They call 1409 Echo because he parrots all the orders that come in. 789 goes by Hevy but hasn’t claimed the name yet. He usually takes charge but not until it’s too late. Fives and Echo are pod mates, so, of the set, they are closest. 2010 rushes ahead and ends up getting shot down first. They call him Droidbait.” Boba reported. 

After letting the squad run out any extra energy he pulled them back to stand around the training mat. "Today you're going to be practicing hand to hand with one of our best. Whichever of you beats your opponent first will be named leader of your squad." Alpha told them and Hevy stepped up. 

"You're going to be fighting us?" He asked eagerly but Alpha shook his head stepping aside as Boba finished wrapping his fists and stepped to the edge of the plastic-covered foam that was all that would be between them and the hard floor. "This is Kip. If none of you can beat him then I'm going to make him your squad leader." He told them while Boba grinned at them. 

"A cadet?! Is that even allowed?" Echo asked worriedly while CT-4040 rolled his eyes. 

"You must really think little of us that a cadet can take us down. We're better than that!" He said with 2010 nodding beside him. The only one who seemed to actually be considering it was Fives. 

"I'm not hitting a kid," Hevy said with a frown backing off but Alpha shoved him forwards again. 

"You will all be sparring with him. Or are you afraid the cadet is going to beat you?" He mocked and Hevy growled but stepped onto the mat just in time to get his leg kicked out by Boba's smaller one and Boba's arm locked around his throat with his thumb jammed into his windpipe. He struggled to pry the kid off but Boba was locked on so he tapped out as black start led dancing along the edges of his vision and he gasped for breath once Boba released him. 

"What the hell are you teaching cadets nowadays?" He coughed as the others laughed. 

Droidbait was next looking more certain. He ran in to try to tackle Boba right away but Boba sidestepped and slipped behind him grabbing his arm and yanking it hard around. Droidbait managed to yank away and spin around but Boba was ready and punched him twice in the face before jerking back before Droidbait could retaliate using his smaller size to his advantage. Eventually, he managed to get behind Droidbait again and trip him forwards sitting on his back to pin him. Droidbait tapped out. 

4040 tried to rush Boba as well but expected Boba to step out of the way as he did for Droidbait except for this time Boba didn't. He used the larger clone's momentum to swing himself up onto his shoulders and his own weight to topple them both to the mat where he made short work of making him tap out too. 

"Seriously… who is this kid?" Hevy asked. 

"He's Boba's replacement." Alpha finally told them and Fives' eyes narrowed.

"Really? Just like that?" He asked sounding angry and Alpha raised an eyebrow. 

"Prime's kid got murdered and he's already got a preset replacement all trained up and ready to go? Did Boba mean that little to him? It hasn't even been a full day yet!" He said and stepped up onto the mat. He lasted a little bit longer than the other three but once again Boba had him tapping out soon enough. 

“You’ll never be Boba.” Fives spat at him and Boba smiled at him. 

“Who would want to be that brat? I heard people saying he deserved it. After all, he was never one of us, right?” He prodded and Echo had to grab his brother to stop him from throwing himself at Boba again. 

“He was a brat! He was a snobby little jerk! But he was our brother! He’s the reason Echo and I are even here together. The long necks wanted to split us up. Said we were too close and it would make us unstable. Boba snuck in and changed our numbers around so we could stay together. He would sneak the newly decanted clones candies to help them not be scared when they would get tested and split up into their batches. No one can replace him!” Fives growled while Echo wrapped his arms around him in a more comforting way once he was certain Fives wouldn’t do something to get himself decommissioned. 

Boba looked over at Alpha who was looking thoughtful. 

“1409. You’re up. Fives, settle. It’s not our choice what Prime does. Kip is a good kid and he didn’t ask for this situation any more than the rest of us. It’s hard but you’re probably going to lose a lot more brothers you care about in the war when you get out there and you can’t let that control you. Your squad is going to get wiped out if you can’t learn to work together. Put that passion towards something useful and get your shit together.” He said as Boba and Echo’s fight started. He lasted just as long as Fives. 

“Looks like Kip is your new Captain. Kip, how should we whip these sorry excuses for soldiers into shape?” Alpha asked. 

“Full kit laps around Kamino until they can’t feel their legs seems like a good start.” He said and Alpha nodded. 

“You heard him. Kit up and meet us outside the barracks. Kip will lead your run.” He said and horror spread across Boba’s face that made Alpha grin. 

“They’re your team, their punishments are your punishments. Lucky the cadet kit is lighter. Better hurry.” He said making Domino squad grin viciously as well until Alpha turned on them and they all took off. 

“I can’t lead them. My dad-” 

“Isn’t here and you might end up needing protection when Cody and I aren’t here. Having a team will be good for you. Plus Domino Squad doesn’t seem like they’re right for any of the other battalions. They can be your personal hit team.” He said and Boba sighed but nodded knowing he wasn’t going to win arguing with Alpha and if he really had an issue with it he’d just take it up with his dad later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this out like two days ago but my brain was not cooperating. Fun Fact, Echo has two different CT ID numbers so I thought it was a fun idea that he and Fives were twins and set to be split up and Boba went in and switched his number so it looked like he was a different clone to keep them together. Fives never forgot about it.


	7. Chapter 7

Jango led Obi-Wan back to his apartment surprised to find Taun We there sitting in Boba’s room holding a bloody shirt. “Taun We…” He said wondering why she was there causing her to look over at him and him to see her eyes were dampened by tears which surprised him. He hadn’t thought the Kaminoans capable of such emotions. 

“I am here to accept my punishment for failing in my duty to care for your son. Lama Su has decided that you can deal with my decommissioning personally. I agree this is the most fair course of action.” She said calmly but looked back down at the shirt. 

“I am defective anyway. I grow too attached to our creations and it limits my uses and prevents me from performing to my maximum potential.” She added long fingers brushing over the fabric tenderly. 

Jango didn’t know what to say to that. He hadn’t expected the Kaminoans to willingly sacrifice one of their own so readily. 

“What do you know about the chips?” He asked instead and she tilted her head looking at him. 

“The inhibitor chips? They are mood-orienting chips. To prevent the clones from being too disobedient and help them process through trauma more easily. We are not unaware they will connect emotionally with their brethren and that the deaths of their fellow soldiers will affect their efficiency. The chips lessen the psychological effects of the battles they will be part of. That is what I was told.” She told him and Obi-Wan nodded. 

“She is telling the truth, or at least what she believes is the truth.” The Jedi confirmed for him. Jango nodded. 

“Why would they have a need to test this on one of my trainers?” He asked and the Kaminoan seemed shocked. 

“They shouldn’t. The chips were already perfected and every clone has one. The only one who didn’t was Boba as for your request he was unaltered. It seems to be a waste of resources to implant the chips in adults as it would likely be rejected. Unless we were specifically requested to do so by our employer, any of our scientists would be reluctant to waste the time and supplies on what would be a clear failure.” She admitted looking confused. 

Jango’s expression twisted and Obi-Wan stepped in. 

“You were Boba’s caregiver?” He asked and Taun We bobbed her head gently. 

“Whenever Jango had to be away for his work I was to make sure Boba was fed and did his lessons. I also helped when he was younger as Jango was not properly instructed in care for newborn humans. I have been instructed in the care of many species of children over the years. My more relaxed nature made me a better fit for this position than my colleagues. I am also in charge of the infants still in tubes here to make sure they are all given the most chance of successful decanting at the proper age. When I was not with Boba I would work there.” She specified. 

Jango sighed deeply and looked at her before at Obi-Wan then back. “If you had to choose between protecting the clones and your people… What would you do?” He asked. 

“If you mean will I assist you in killing my people for your revenge for Boba’s death? I will not take part in such a thing. I would rather be killed along with the others. However, if you mean would I be willing to help you find who is responsible for what is clearly a purposeful murder against an innocent child? Then you have my assistance in any way you need.” She said firmly. 

“I want the decommissioning stopped. Permanently. We need more data on the chips and if they have some sort of secondary purpose. I won’t lie and say there aren’t Kaminoans that are going to die by the end of this. I let myself be blind to the horrors some of them have done… But I give you my word that those who stand aside and submit to the new terms will be spared.” He told her and she nodded. 

“Very well. You will have my help. For Boba.” She agreed. 

“About Boba… He’s still alive.” Jango added and she looked at him with actual hope. 

“How? I saw the body myself.” She asked. 

“He was switching places with other cadets for fun and it just happened that he had switched when this happened. No one else can know and I will not be telling you which clone he is hidden as for his own safety, but he is alive and if this all goes well I would like you to keep your position caring for him.” He told her and she reached out placing her hand over one of his. 

“Thank you. I will not fail a second time.” She swore before standing. “If you’ll excuse me, I will go and get back to my work.” She said stepping past Obi-Wan. 

“So now wha-” Obi-Wan was cut off by a transmission blinking through Jango’s com. 

“Stay quiet and out of the way, it’s Tyranus,” Jango said and Obi-Wan stepped around the doorway so he was out of sight but could still listen. Jango activated the call showing the old man he had been working with. 

“Fett. I have heard the unfortunate news. You have my sincere sympathies at the death of your son.” He said bowing his head and Jango sneered openly. 

“I don’t want your sympathies. I want answers. This place was supposed to be safe. This wasn’t just some mental break or the other clones would have been targeted too. This was purposeful to hurt me.” He said and Tyranus nodded. 

“Then you will have it. I will lead a thorough investigation myself, however, at this moment I need you to come to Geonosis. The time has come for our plan to begin. Have your Mandalorians leave Kamino. Your revenge on the Jedi will be fulfilled.” He said seriously before hanging up. 

Jango cursed and rubbed his face as Obi-Wan stepped back into the room. 

“Revenge against the Jedi?” He asked eyes hard. 

“For Galidraan. For my people. I haven’t been hiding the fact I hate you.” He pointed out but sat down, not reaching for his weapons. 

“So you’d bring yourself to our level? Can there be no other way besides back and forth slaughter between Jedi and Mandalorian?” He asked. 

“I agreed 10 years ago when it was all so much fresher. I don’t know the clones’ part in all this. Why he wanted an army for the republic. I have been assuming that the army is to protect the republic from your Jedi when we took out your council. But I have a feeling I’ve just been used. If the chips are some sort of slave chips then… He already has an army of droids. The best battle droids money can buy. I’ve seen them in action. But imagine having an army on both sides. He sets up the clone army and gives it to the Republic. We kill the Jedi then they are forced to accept an army to defend themselves without you defending them. He’d control both sides of the fight when the army is controlled by chips he has access to. He could take anything he wanted, do anything. These are the best soldiers in the galaxy. I know, I trained them and they’re me.” Jango said as everything started clicking together for him. 

“It’s not too late to stop that plan. If you don’t kill the Jedi, then we’ll still be there to protect the Republic. We can find a way to deactivate the slave chips and your sons will be freed. Let me help you.” Obi-Wan said softly and placed a hand on Jango’s shoulder. 

Jango closed his eyes knowing what was the right thing to do but it made him so mad. He didn’t want to help the Jedi. They had taken everything from him and he would never get any of it back. 

“I have a sort of son too. His name is Anakin. I’ve raised him as my padawan since he was small. He’s 19 years old. If it comes to fighting, he’ll likely be killed. There are children in the order who will lose their masters- the closest thing they have to parents. There are better ways to get revenge. Like… taking your home back. I am close with Satine. I’m certain I can help you both make arrangements and come to a peaceful agreement.” He offered and Jango snorted. 

“Fine. I’m only agreeing for a chance to piss off Satine though. Not because I care if you live or not. That and to protect my… sons.” He said not sure how that felt yet but it felt better than them being called products and being used as machines. In his mind, the choice was between watching Boba live, or watching the Jedi die. And that made the choice much much easier for him. 

“I hope you have a plan.” He said and Obi-Wan shrugged. 

“We’ll figure it out as we go. First, the council needs to be made aware of the situation. Maybe we can ambush Dooku. If we take him out then the rest should fall apart.” He said and Jango’s eyes widened. 

“Dooku? The Jedi?” He asked and Obi-Wan nodded. 

“The one you spoke to calling himself Tyranus is actually Yan Dooku, my grandmaster. I recognized his voice. He’s clearly been influenced by the Sith though. I need to talk with the others and figure out what they think is best. Why don’t you go check on Boba?” He suggested and left to return to his ship leaving Jango to glare at the wall hard enough it should have started to burn under his anger. Dooku was going to die for tricking him. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short soft chapter today. Something sweet to hold onto when shit hits the fan in Geonosis. I love the idea of Clones just piling up together and snuggling. It's the best.

Boba groaned in pain as he flopped onto his bunk with the Domino Squad. He didn’t know what Alpha’s plan was, sticking him with them and making him their commander but he had long since learned that asking Alpha was a waste of time. He was better off just going along with it and letting the other clone’s plan sort itself out.

“Hevy! Move! That’s my bunk!” Droidbait whined shoving at his brother while Echo didn’t even bother fighting Fives just flopping right on top of his podmate. 

“Go fight the cadet for his spot. Twerp doesn’t belong here. Just because he’s Primes new pet project doesn’t mean he’s somehow better than the rest of us.” Heavy grumbled.

“Maybe you should toss him off the deck like you did Fives. Seeing as throwing brothers to their deaths is fun for you.” Echo hissed at him making Hevy sit up. 

“Death? Please! C deck isn’t even that high. Even a cadet like Kip could survive that!” He countered and Boba threw his boot at his head. 

“Would all of you shut up? Ka’ra, you all squabble like your fresh from your tubes. I didn’t ask to be here with you either so let’s just make the best of it until Alpha gets whatever he wants from this. He clearly thinks me being here is going to help your squad somehow. Suck it up.” He said glaring at them. 

“Oh, right, we forgot, you’re the special one. Going to go make doe eyes at daddy so he can tuck you in and give you a sippy of blue milk?” CT-4040 mocked and Boba rolled his eyes until suddenly Fives was there yanking him out of bed unexpectedly. 

“What makes you so special? How come you get to be the new Boba? Did you even know the old Boba?” He asked shoving him. Echo hopped up and put an arm on Five’s shoulder. 

“Vod... “ He warned. Boba started to laugh. 

“Better than anyone. You seem to care an awful lot for someone who only spoke to you once.” Boba said and Five crossed his arms. 

“Boba was a good brother. I still think he needed to be given a swirly or two and left in the place of one of us for a few weeks instead of only a few hours. But he did care. Mellow always goes on and one about Boba helping his squad learn to sign. It saved him from getting decommissioned for his hearing trouble. He’s being considered for ARC training now. Boba taking the heat for Cave and scaring off his bullies have the kid a world of confidence. It may have been a game to Boba, getting to show off and flaunt how much better his training was but it meant so much more for our brothers. I don’t know how you can be so selfish to not care who’s shoes you’ll be filling.” He said frowning and Boba slid down the wall to pull his knees up. 

“He was never one of you. How many brothers has he switched with? Over the last years? It’s been hundreds. But they grow twice as fast. They get promoted and moved around. No one ever bothered to come to see him. All those cadets he switched with. None of them ever asked for him to come back once their problems were fixed. He’s never been a brother. He was a tool to help them and they were happy to use him. He was just happy to pretend for a while. That he had brothers who cared. All of you have batchmates and even podmates. Boba was created all alone and was made differently just for his buir. Buir is the best too. He loves me so much but it doesn’t mean it’s not lonely being trapped in one tiny apartment with just bots to talk to for weeks while he’s away. Kote was the only one who snuck in. But he’s a commander now and he’s… He’s an adult already. He can’t be my brother anymore. That’s why Buir wanted me to stay away. He knew I’d never been able to belong and he didn’t want me hurt but I get hurt either way. And now Kip is dead and I couldn’t do anything.” Boba sniffled into his knees making himself as small as possible while all of Domino Squad stared at him in shock. 

“Boba? Wait! Boba? Are you- Holy Kriff. How are you here? You died!” Fives spluttered and Boba sighed. 

“I switched with Kip. He was getting picked on. But while he was in the apartment he got attacked and killed. He didn’t deserve to die for me. I might have been able to take the guy! I’m better trained. I’ve been being trained for years. I’m the reason Kip is dead and now I have to walk around pretending to be him because they’re trying to figure out why the Kaminoans wanted me killed. I do just want my dad to come and get me and tuck me in. I want him to make me shig and I want this all to be a bad dream.” He murmured his voice breaking a few times as he fought tears. 

“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t know… I shouldn’t have taken it out on you but you don’t seem to get it, do you? You are one of us. So what you’ll stay a runt for longer. You kicked our asses on the mat. You take care of our Vode. The whole reason I was mad was because I thought you were dead Boba! There are clones all over Kamino right now who are probably mourning you. Thinking our Ori’vod died and how much they’re going to miss hearing about the stupid shit you did. You’re an inspiration. All of the Tubies want to be as cool as you. And… Domino Squad is proud to be your team.” Fives looked over at his brothers when he said the last part not sure they would agree but all of them nodded. 

“You have to teach us how you were able to take us all down when you’re half our size. We’ll make all the other Squads jealous.” Hevy said with a small smile while Echo pushed past Fives and flopped on the floor next to Boba so they were pressed shoulder to shoulder. 

“If Prime takes you back, you’re still going to be stuck with us. We’ve done stupider things than break into Prime’s apartment. We won’t leave you.” He promised, nudging him gently while Driodbair dragged the blankets off the beds and threw them at Fives before the rest of them gathered up pillows and all snuggled up around their tiny older brother in a big pile that Boba ended up squished in the middle of. 

“I think we’ll wait until morning to throw him in the ocean. I want to record it.” Hevy commented earning a snort from Boba and an elbow to the ribs from the others but Boba relaxed and leaned to the side to rest his head against Echo’s arm exhausted from the training and all the emotions but feeling safe there. 

When Jango finally found them when he was looking for Boba later he ended up leaving empty-handed. His son just looked too content there wrapped from all sides by his brothers and he was a little worried one of the clones might shoot him if he even tried to take him at that point. He decided to let Alpha know and leave a note with him to give Boba since he’d have to leave soon and didn’t want to leave without leaving some sort of goodbye for his son. At least he knew he‘d be in good hands while he was gone this time. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter jumps around a bit between Boba's group and Jango and Obi-Wan but hopefully, it's not too confusing.

Obi-Wan settled into the co-pilot seat to watch Jango as they made their way towards Geonosis. The council had been informed about the situation and had decided that they couldn’t allow Dooku to continue. He needed to be captured and brought in for questioning. Obi-Wan volunteered to scout ahead in secret while the rest of the order gathered to prepare an ambush. It was the best plan they had. 

Focusing back on Jango Obi-Wan wondered if he could truly trust him to have his back. The man was clearly a walking contradiction. He had been broken so many times and every time had been forced to put himself back together alone, more darkness seeping through the cracks. But Obi-Wan had seen how much he adored his son. That light was what was keeping Jango whole. He shivered at the thought that Boba had actually died like Jango had temporarily thought he had. He wasn’t sure Jango would have made it very long after that. 

“Do I have something on my face or are you trying to read my mind?” Jango snapped and Obi-Wan sighed. 

“I was just thinking of how much we have in common and our conversations. Your love for Boba is… inspiring. I figure we have a few hours flight, might as well get to know each other.” He added with a grin and Jango groaned. He was going to enjoy annoying every detail he could out of Jango. 

* * *

Boba was feeling better the next morning as he and the rest of Domino Squad sat in one of the many small training rooms doing stretches. He had hoped to see his dad for breakfast but he hadn’t been able to get ahold of Alpha to arrange anything so he had just had the meal with his Squad and got them all focused on figuring out a name for CT-4040 to keep them focused. 

“It’s true. All the rest of us have names. Maybe you can be called Bantha, you’re as stubborn as one.” Droidbait teased his brother only to get elbowed in the ribs. Thankfully they were interrupted by Alpha before it could turn into a full-on brawl. 

“Kip! I need to speak with you. The rest of you, as you were.” He ordered and Boba hopped up and walked over to Alpha. 

“Your buir had to go to Geonosis but he left a recording for you.” He said moving so his body blocked any sightlines Domino Squad could have had before playing the holo recording. Jango popped up. 

“I don’t really have the time to make this long. Tyranus is Dooku, one of the Jedi who were on Galidraan. I think he’s planning on hurting the other clones and I have to stop him. Obi-Wan is informing the other Jedi and we’re going to leave once he is finished. Boba, You were right. All those arguments you had? Telling me the clones were your brothers and that I should be protecting our aliit? You were right. I didn’t want to risk you but now I realize that I was abandoning my sons and I won’t do it anymore. Once Dooku is dead we’ll figure out somewhere to go with all your vode. You should start figuring out where you’d want to live. Maybe somewhere with less rain.” Jango chuckled and shook his head. “Keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself. I’ll be home soon. No fake deaths and scaring me to the manda this time, okay? Ni kar'taylir darasuum bob’ika.” He said and the recording ended. Boba stared at it for several minutes before looking up at Alpha. 

“Don’t you even dare try to do anything stupid. He’s already gone. You can’t sneak away. Just do what he asked for once and keep things quiet. Okay?” Alpha said and Boba sighed. 

“Fine. I’ll be good. For now.” He agreed. “Domino Squad knows who I am now so you don’t have to hide it from them.” He added and Alpha groaned. 

“You would think the kid of such a good bounty hunter would be better at keeping secrets.” He grumbled but stomped out of the room as Boba returned to his team. 

“Well?” Echo asked and they all looked at Boba expectantly. 

“Well, what?” He asked and Fives grinned. 

“When are we going to Geonosis to rescue Prime?” He said and Boba slowly grinned. 

“We’ll have to wait until Alpha’s busy but I think I know a way…” He started and they all huddled in close. 

* * *

Fives whooped in excitement as the alarms blared in the hanger Boba piloting them out while Hevy and their newly named brother Cut-Up let loose some stun rounds From the back of the ship they had procured as the ramp closed up. The adrenaline had them all laughing as Boba dodged shots from the decks and lifted them up towards the atmosphere. Echo looked a mix of exhilarated and sick. 

“Make sure if you puke it’s in your bucket bro.” Fives giggled slapping him on the back. 

“We better hope Prime appreciates this or we’re all getting decommissioned as soon as we get back.” He whined. 

“It doesn’t look like we were worth them sending any other ships after us so we’re free for hyperspace when you’re ready Boba,” Droidbait called up to their pilot who nodded. 

“You won’t get in trouble. I promise I’ll take all the heat if there are any issues. This was my idea.” Boba assured them.

“You’ve already said that like four times. We agreed to go with you. We’re your team. Plus it’s our duty to keep you safe right? Can’t do that if we let you run off all alone.” Heavy said calmly as he started going over the weapons they smuggled aboard before they had gotten caught and had to take off in a hurry. 

“So… Echo, want to fill us all in on what you can find about Geonosis? We should be ready for anything.” Fives asked his twin. 

“It has a thick ring of asteroids around it we’ll need to navigate. The natives aren’t exactly friendly to the republic. They were in the group that’s hoping to separate. So I’m guessing whatever this Dooku fellow is up to, it isn’t good.” Echo told them. 

“He was a Jedi but he’s not anymore. I think that makes him a Sith, a dar’jetti. He’s very dangerous. Buir will get hurt. We have to help him.” Boba said and the others nodded. 

“I think they’re having some sort of evil villain meeting here and Dooku invited buir-” Boba started only to get cut off.

“Wait does that mean Prime was working for the bad guys? I thought we served the Republic?” Echo asked and Boba sighed deeply. 

“I think dad was working both sides? But got in over his head and he tried to kill someone the Jedi like and it caused issues. The Jedi with him promised to not arrest him if he helped their side. He was treating things like a bounty but now he cares about you guys and he’s trying to help to make up for the bad stuff he didn’t help with before.” Boba told them honestly even though he didn’t like the thought of his dad being a bad guy. His dad was a good guy. He just… did bad things sometimes for money. But that’s just how things were. The Jedi did bad things for power, look at Galidraan. They had done that to make the Senate happy so clearly, they were just the same. But it was all out of Boba’s pay grade. He’d let the adults decide the whole good and evil thing. He was just there to save his dad, and maybe his Jedi friend too if he didn’t get them in trouble.

“Okay, fair enough, so evil meeting going on and we’re going to crash it. We should get recordings if we can, could be used as evidence later.” Echo said and the rest of Domino squad nodded setting up their helmets so they could record whatever they saw and send it straight back to the Slave One in case anything happened to them. 

* * *

Obi-Wan blamed everything on Jango and as soon as he got out of there he was going to bang the man’s helmet-covered head against the wall a few times. Maybe he’d finally get through to him if he knocked his emotional core back into place. He couldn’t believe the man had turned on him as soon as they had landed. Jango had knocked him out and handed him over to Dooku like a party gift! He was livid!

“I found the jetti, do I let him out?” Came a familiar voice and Obi-Wan almost started sassing him before he walked in but thankfully held his tongue because it wasn’t Jango who walked in but one of his clones in some slightly dirty armor. 

“Sir, my name is Droidbait. I’m here to help. Boba has located Prime and my brothers are slicing into the computers here to see what sort of data they can get.” He said and Obi-Wan nodded. 

“Yes, yes, that’s splendid. Now can you get me down from here?” asked but Droidbait shook his head. 

“Sorry but that would ruin Prime’s plan and I’m already going to be grounded just as long as Boba… which since I age twice as fast is basically double the amount of time. Maybe we could convince Prime to give us half the grounding… I’ll ask Echo, he’s better at loopholes than I am.” He said causing Obi-Wan to frown. 

“Jango turned on me and handed me over to Dooku! He’s betrayed us. I have to get out of here in order to get to the others and tell them what happened.” Obi-Wan said and Droidbait tilted his helmet in a way that made Obi-Wan feel like the clone was rolling his eyes at him. 

“Sir, you don’t think very much like a bounty hunter do you? He lied.” He said easily and Obi-Wan groaned. 

“Exactly he lied. He said he was going to help and then he turned me in.” He tried to convince the soldier. 

“He turned you in so Dooku would trust him and tell him his plan. He then was going to free you and you’d both escape with the details to share with the rest of the Jedi. It’s really obvious. If he actually turned on you, you’d be dead.” Droidbait pointed out and Obi-Wan blinked a few times realizing he had let his emotions and distrust of Jango get to him. It did make sense and Jango had even asked him to trust him before knocking him out. 

“Oh… Well in that case… Care to fill me in on everything I’ve missed?” He asked 

* * *

Boba sighed in relief as he finally found the room Jango had been given and kicked the grate in so he could climb out of the vents not even caring about the gun Jango had pointed at him in an instant. 

“Boba?” Jango asked as he hopped down and dusted himself off. 

“I don’t think they clean those vents very often. They’re gross.” Boba huffed crossing his arms as Jango stared at him in surprise before it slowly morphed into understanding then anger. 

“What are you doing here?! I told you to wait on Kamino!” He said and Boba shrugged. 

“I decided I didn’t want to wait to get found and stabbed and that if you got to come to fight a dar’jetti I wanted to come and help! It’s okay I didn’t come alone!” He said as if that made it better. 

Jango rubbed his face tiredly. 

“There’s no way you convinced Alpha-” He started but Boba cut him off.

“Nope! I brought my Domino Squad!” He said proudly and Jango barely resisted banging his head against the wall. 

“You mean the half-trained rookie squad that can’t pass their tests?” He asked really hoping Boba meant another Domino Squad. 

“Uh… Boba? We got a problem.” A voice came through Boba’s com and Boba clicked it to reply. 

“Fives? Are you okay?” He asked and the trooper took a few moments before replying. 

“Yeah, Cut-up and I are still with the ship. But some sleek shiny thing just showed up and I think another Jedi is here. Along with the Senator from Naboo. Should we go after them?” He asked. Boba looked up at Jango biting his lip. 

“No. They need to stay with the ship. In fact, all of you need to return to the ship now and go straight back to Kamino. I will deal with you when I get home again.” Jango said glaring at his son. Boba met his eyes and his face set stubbornly. 

“That’s an affirmative. Tail the Jedi and Senator but stay out of sight.” He ordered and Jango took a deep breath through his nose. 

“Boba… this is not a game. This is dangerous. You are putting your brother’s lives at risk. Tell them to go back to the ship, now.” Jango tried to reason with him. 

“If it’s that dangerous you should have brought troopers to help you! We’re here now and we’re not going back until you do, so either give us real orders or I’ll figure it out myself.” He said and Jango knew he wasn’t winning this. He could try to carry his son there but it would only make a scene and get him caught and make things worse. 

“Fine. where are the others in the squad?” He asked and Boba grinned at his victory. 

“Droidbait went to find the Jedi. We heard Dooku talking about you turning him in and guessed you were playing along to get information from him. Hevy and Echo were tasked to find a place to slice in and get intel that way. Everyone is streaming their HUD cams back to the Slave one so if anything happens we can trace that back to find them and we will have evidence against Dooku and the people working with them.” Boba told him and Jango had to admit it wasn’t half bad of a plan. No one was without back up and they weren’t doing anything where they’d run into trouble. 

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do…” Jango said and started working with what he had to make a plan. 


End file.
